James Madison was born on 16 March 1751 in Virginia.
His large family had a large plantation with about 100 slaves.
His childhood was during the French and Indian War 1754-63.
He enrolled in a boarding school in 1762 and studied Latin,
some French and Spanish, and English literature.
James learned Greek to study the philosophy of Plato and Aristotle,
and he liked works by John Locke.
He came home in 1767 to teach his brothers and sisters.
He read works by Cicero, Shakespeare, and
law books by Grotius, Pufendorf, and Vattel.
In 1770 James advised his father not to buy things from Britain.
He graduated at Princeton in September 1771,
and he began studying Hebrew and theology.
Madison was a friend of William Bradford
who became Attorney General in Pennsylvania.
Madison studied government and joined a
Committee of Correspondence in December 1774.
He wrote letters in 1775 to Bradford and others urging the embargo.
He was elected to the Virginia Convention in 1776.
He worked with Thomas Jefferson, George Mason, John Adams, and Patrick Henry.
In November 1777 Madison was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates,
and in 1779 he worked with Governor Jefferson who
helped him join the American Philosophical Society.
Madison in September warned Congress about issuing
too much paper money, and they stopped printing it.
In December he was elected to the Continental Congress.
In March 1780 he began writing letters to Jefferson,
and Gov. Jefferson first wrote to him in July 1780.
Madison supported the work of Ben Franklin.
Madison in October wrote about the western boundary.
He provided detailed instructions for the diplomat John Jay
who was sent to France and Spain.
In January 1781 Madison wrote to Jefferson about the Pennsylvania mutiny.
He urged giving Congress more powers.
He was chairman of a committee that on October 1
issued a manifesto on British war crimes.
Madison worked on the Articles of Confederation in 1782,
and on May 1 he wrote “Observations on State Territorial Claims.”
In 1783 Madison and Jefferson began collecting books for the first Library of Congress.
He gave a speech on taxes and another on revenues.
Madison offered a financial plan on March 6, and he made a long speech in Congress.
A mutiny in Philadelphia caused Congress to move to Annapolis in November,
and Madison and Jefferson went home to Virginia.
Madison studied law and was elected again to Congress in April 1784.
He and Lafayette negotiated with the Iroquois at Fort Stanwix.
Madison and Jefferson wrote many letters to each other,
though Jefferson wrote fewer after he left for France.
In August 1785 Madison wrote to James Monroe about regulating trade.
He also suggested using Montesquieu’s three branches of government in a constitution.
Madison in June made a long speech on religious liberty.
In December he wrote to George Washington about commercial propositions.
In June 1786 he wrote to Monroe about Spain.
Alexander Hamilton, Madison, and others organized
a convention for May 1787 in Philadelphia.
On November 5 George Washington wrote to Madison about
concerns that a constitution could solve.
Madison replied three days later, and on December 7
he wrote urging Washington to attend the convention in May.
In April 1787 Madison wrote several pages on the
“Vices of the Political System of the United States.”
On April 8 he sent his ideas for a better constitution to
Edmund Randolph who adopted them in his Virginia Plan.
Madison sent a long letter to Washington on April 16.
Madison arrived in Philadelphia on May 3, and by May 25
there were 29 delegates who elected Washington the chairman.
Madison made two speeches on June 6 and another the next day.
During the convention Madison took copious except when he was speaking.
They approved Randolph’s amended Virginia Plan on June 13 that had 19 resolutions.
Madison criticized William Paterson’s New Jersey Plan on June 19.
Madison on the last three days of June spoke on several issues.
On July 2 they formed a committee to resolve differences.
On the 14th Madison argued for proportional representation for the Senate.
On August 25 he opposed extending the end of the slave trade from 1800 to 1808.
They worked out various issues in September and
finally agreed on a Constitution on the 17th.
Madison wrote to Washington on October 18 and a
very long letter to Jefferson in France on October 24.
Madison began publishing anonymous articles for the Federalist Papers
on November 22, and Alexander Hamilton also contributed essays.
Madison was especially brilliant in his #10 including this:
“No man is allowed to be a judge in his own cause;
because his interest would
certainly bias his judgment, and, not improbably, corrupt his integrity.”
He also wrote, “If men were angels, no government would be necessary.
If angels were to govern men, neither external nor
internal controls on government would be necessary.”
These essays were written to persuade people to ratify the new Constitution.
Madison also defended it at Virginia’s Convention on 6 June 1788.
On the 11th he spoke on “direct taxation” and the
next day on the religious value of the bill of rights.
On June 17 he gave a speech on “control of the military.”
He also made a long speech on “judicial power.”
Virginia ratified the Constitution on June 25.
In February 1789 Madison was elected to the new Congress,
and the elected President George Washington relied on his advice.
Madison suggested legislation in the House of Representatives.
Washington asked Madison to speak in the House on principles.
On June 8 he discussed proposed amendments to the Constitution.
On June 15 he spoke about the President’s power and how he can be removed.
In March 1790 Thomas Jefferson became the Secretary of State.
Madison in the House of Representatives on April 22 made a long speech
criticizing Treasury Secretary Hamilton’s financial plans.
Jefferson in June mediated a compromise that accepted
Hamilton’s assumption
of state debts, and Madison got the site of the capital by the Potomac River.
Madison in December led a committee that wrote a response
to President Washington’s Annual Message to Congress.
On December 22 Madison gave a speech on “Religious Exemptions from Militia Duty.”
Madison criticized Hamilton’s National Bank on 2 February 1791.
Federalists defended Hamilton in the Gazette of the United States,
and Madison and Jefferson persuaded Philip Freneau
to found the National Gazette for the Republicans.
Madison wrote an essay on “Population and Emigration” in November
and then one on how to consolidate the states into one government.
On December 15 the first ten amendments to the Constitution
were ratified as the famous “bill of rights.”
In 1792 Madison wrote more anonymous essays on government
including one on “Universal Peace” on February 2.
He wrote to Jefferson in June.
Madison’s essay “A Candid State of Politics” was published on September 26.
George Washington of Virginia was easily re-elected as President.
Neither Jefferson nor Madison could be elected Vice President
because they were from the same state as the President.
When Americans learned in April 1793 that France and Britain were at war,
the Democratic Republicans led by Jefferson and Madison favored the French
while the Federalists Hamilton and Vice President John Adams were for the British.
Washington held a cabinet meeting and declared neutrality on April 22.
Madison wrote several letters to Jefferson about the aggressive Genêt
who was trying to make Americans France’s ally.
Hamilton published his essay “Defense of the President’s Neutrality Proclamation”
on 29 June 1793, and Madison responded with his five
long articles called “Helvidius” in August and September.
On 3 January 1794 Madison presented his resolutions
on “Commercial Discrimination” to the Congress.
On the 11th he wrote to Jefferson about a bill to revise the Naturalization law.
On March 12 Madison informed him that the British Navy
was seizing neutral ships in the French West Indies.
On December 21 he wrote to Jefferson about John Jay’s treaty
with the British that the Senate had passed.
President Washington kept the treaty secret until March 1795.
The Senators amended Article 12 before they ratified the treaty 20 to 10 on June 24.
Madison in August wrote to Robert R. Livingston asking him
to circulate Madison’s ideas on the Jay Treaty in New York.
On December 20 Madison wrote to the ambassador
James Monroe in France using a secret code.
Washington had signed the treaty in August,
and it became effective on 29 February 1796.
Madison spoke at length about the Jay Treaty on March 10 and April 6 in the
House of Representatives which he believed
had the right to participate in the ratification of treaties.
After a tie vote on April 29, some Republicans helped the Jay Treaty get funding.
Madison wrote to James Monroe about the elections on 29 September.
On December 7 John Adams got 71 electoral votes to 68 for Jefferson for President.
The Federalists also gained a majority in the Senate and in the House of Representatives.
On December 9 Madison announced that he was retiring from Congress.
Madison’s term ended on 4 March 1797,
and he declined a position as a diplomat in France.
President John Adams limited naval forces and waged a
“Quasi-War” from 1798 to 1800 that was never declared.
Madison criticized Adams for being “monarchical.”
In the first two months in 1798 Madison wrote eight letters to Jefferson
and six more in March and April, and two more in May.
President Adams on June 25 approved An Act Respecting Alien Enemies
and the Sedition Act on July 14 made false and malicious statements illegal.
Jefferson strongly protested both the Alien and Sedition Act with his
Kentucky Resolutions that were adopted in November.
That month Madison completed his Virginia Resolutions that
Virginia’s House and Senate passed on December 21 and 24.
In the 1798 elections the Federalists gained three more seats in the House,
and the Senate stayed the same.
On 23 January 1799 Madison presented his Address on the Sedition Act
to the Assembly and People of Virginia.
On the same day he criticized the British with his
“Foreign Influence” in the Aurora General Advertiser.
On February 5 Madison wrote about the army to Jefferson.
On February 23 he discussed the problems of the
French Republic in his “Political Reflections.”
On November 26 Jefferson in a letter to Madison expressed
his goals if he were to become President.
Madison returned to the Virginia House of Delegates on December 1.
On 7 January 1800 he completed his 55-page
“Report on the Alien and Sedition Acts,” and Virginia approved it on the 11th.
In the fall election Jefferson and Burr received 53 votes.
Even though Burr was intended to be for Vice President, this was not official,
and by the Constitution the voting went to the House of Representatives by states.
Burr tried to get Federalists to elect him, but eventually
Jefferson was elected on the 37th ballot on 17 February 1801.
Republicans gained a majority in the House of Representatives in the 1800 elections.
President Adams on his last day in office on 3 March 1801
had appointed 23 new federal judges.
On March 5 President Jefferson appointed James Madison to be Secretary of State,
and he told him not to deliver the new judges’ commissions.
The new judge William Marbury brought a suit against Madison in 1803 that became
the famous Marbury v. Madison case which was decided by the United States
Supreme Court led by the Federalist Chief Justice John Marshall.
Madison moved to the new city of Washington on May 1
and became Secretary of State the next day.
Jefferson let Madison and his wife Dolley stay in the President’s House
for three weeks, and she provided hospitality.
Madison realized he needed to reduce his private correspondence as Secretary
as he received thousands of reports and wrote hundreds of official statements.
Several clerks assisted him.
Jefferson after his 8 years as President later wrote that
he and his closest advisor Madison “never differed sensibly.”
On May 21 Madison sent a circular to consuls in the Mediterranean region
notifying them that three war frigates would be arriving to warn Tripoli’s pasha.
They formed a blockade in July.
On August 1 the USS Enterprise destroyed the Tripoli ship.
Jefferson’s policy to reduce piracy and ransoms began a small war.
From July to August in 1801 Madison worked from his farm at Montpelier in Virginia.
For the next 16 years Madison usually spent about two summer months there.
Also in July 1801 Madison persuaded the US Senate
to dismiss a libel case against William Duane.
Madison advised Jefferson on his first Annual Message
to Congress that was delivered on December 8.
The new Treasury Secretary Albert Gallatin also made suggestions
on the Sedition Act that they considered unconstitutional.
Jefferson’s cabinet wanted to pay off the Dey of Algiers, and Madison had sugar,
coffee, pepper, and other things sent to Algiers along with four warships.
Tripoli’s pasha declared war, and Jefferson ordered more frigates.
Adams during his Quasi-war against France had sent Dr. Edward Stevens
to Haiti to advise General Toussaint Louverture and his slave revolt.
Washington’s former private secretary Tobias Lear was sent to replace Stevens in June.
He was to follow the laws of nations and protect American commerce.
Madison advised the ambassador Rufus King in England to improve Jay’s Treaty.
By May 1801 King had written ten letters to Madison who
wrote to King on June 15 and again on July 24.
President Jefferson wrote to Madison on August 28
about the Bey of Tunis and other issues.
Jefferson and Madison agreed on a neutral policy,
and the war between France and Britain ended in December 1801.
That month the American diplomat Robert R. Livingston arrived in Paris.
Madison wrote a fairly long letter to Rufus King on 7 April 1802.
Jefferson wrote to Livingston on April 18.
Madison worked on Georgia’s sale of its western land that would eventually
become the states of Alabama and Mississippi.
John Randolph opposed this, and he became the political enemy
of his cousin Jefferson and Madison.
On 1 May 1802 Madison wrote to Livingston advising him
to negotiate a purchase of Louisiana territory.
Madison wrote to Ambassador Charles Pinckney in Spain on May 11.
Madison wrote to Jefferson on various issues on August 14.
On September 1 Livingston wrote to Madison informing him that Spain’s secret
cession of Louisiana to France had not included East and West Florida.
On October 15 Madison responded to seven letters from Livingston from May to July.
News arrived in Washington in November that Spain
had closed the port of New Orleans to all except Spanish ships.
Madison considered this a violation of their treaty with Spain in 1795
and because Spain had transferred New Orleans to France.
He wrote on November 27 to Charles Pinckney in Madrid.
Madison wrote to Livingston again on December 16.
That month the former Governor James Monroe
of Virginia was sent to France to aid Livingston.
In the 1802 elections the Republicans increased their majority
in the House by 35 seats and gained a majority in the Senate.
On 18 January 1803 Madison sent a letter
using a secret code to Livingston in France.
On March 2 Madison wrote a very long letter to Livingston and Monroe
urging them to negotiate a purchase of Louisiana that could include the Floridas.
Monroe reached Paris on April 8, and Madison wrote to him on May 1.
From 30 May 1801 to 8 January 1810 Livingston wrote 121 letters to Madison.
Negotiation for the purchase of all of Louisiana began in Paris on April 11.
They signed a treaty on May 1, and
Livingston and Monroe wrote to Madison on May 13.
News of the purchase reached Washington on July 14.
Madison wrote using code to Livingston and Monroe on July 29
and to Monroe alone the next day.
Madison persuaded President Jefferson that the
purchase did not violate the US Constitution.
The United States and France ratified the treaty before the October 30 deadline.
The Louisiana Territory was peacefully transferred to the United States
on December 20, and New Orleans got the news on 15 January 1804.
On 31 January 1804 Madison in a coded letter to Livingston advised that
the Louisiana Purchase did not include the Floridas
while the western boundary was the Rio Grande.
Madison used cypher writing in a letter to Monroe on February 16.
Madison on March 19 wrote to Yrujo, the Spanish minister to the United States,
about the 1795 Treaty and the Treaty of April 30, 1803.
Yrujo complained to Jefferson about Madison who
advised Monroe to demand Yrujo’s recall in Spain.
Madison wrote a long letter with some cypher to Livingston on March 31.
On April 10 Madison wrote seven letters including one to Charles Pinckney
and two letters to William C. C. Claiborne, the Governor of the Orleans Territory.
Madison wrote to Monroe about Spain and other issues on April 15 and again on July 21.
Monroe was the US Minister to Britain from August 1803 to October 1807.
President Jefferson was easily re-elected in 1804 winning in 15 of the 17 states.
Republicans increased their majorities to 27 to 7 in the Senate
and to 114 to 28 in the House of Representatives.
Madison wrote a long letter to James Monroe on 6 March 1805.
Madison wrote to Jefferson about West Florida on March 27.
On April 9 Madison advised the British Minister Anthony Merry that
the British Navy was impressing Americans to serve against their will.
On June 6 Madison wrote to the US Ambassador John Armstrong in France.
On August 4 and again on the 7th Jefferson wrote
to Madison about Charles Pinckney in Spain.
Madison responded to the President on August 20 and again on September 14.
Madison on September 24 wrote to Monroe in England about the British Navy.
Madison wrote to Jefferson about various issues on September 30,
and the President responded on October 11.
Madison wrote to Jefferson about Spain on October 16,
and Jefferson replied one week later.
Madison in November made a few suggestions to Jefferson on his
Fifth Annual Message to Congress he delivered on December 5, 1805.
Secretary of State Madison studied Grotius, Pufendorf, Vattel and others
on international law, and in January 1806 Madison published his
Examination of the British Doctrine, which subjects to
capture a Neutral Trade Not Open in Time of Peace.
He challenged the British use of the “Rule of 1756” in the light of maritime law.
On January 13 Madison wrote to James Monroe in England.
On the 25th Madison wrote to President v about the British violations
and then to the United States Senate on January 27.
Madison on March 10 sent a letter to inform Monroe in England.
Madison even wrote to the British ambassador Anthony Merry on June 6.
The next day Madison wrote to George Washington’s former private secretary
Tobias Lear whom Jefferson had named in 1803 as
the Consul General to the coast of North Africa.
In early 1806 Jefferson appointed William Pinkney as a
diplomat to the British to assist Monroe in England.
Madison wrote a very long letter on 17 May 1806 and mailed it to Monroe and Pinkney.
Concerned about Napoleon, those two men negotiated a treaty
with the British they signed on December 31.
Madison, on behalf of Jefferson, wrote another letter to Monroe on 3 February 1807.
Madison using a secret code wrote another long letter to Monroe on May 20.
The British HMS Leopard attacked the USS Chesapeake on June 22,
and they killed 3, wounded 18, and impressed 3 sailors.
Jefferson met with his cabinet and ordered all American ships
to leave the Mediterranean Sea and come home.
Madison on July 6 wrote a long letter advising Monroe to avoid provocations.
He wrote to Monroe again on July 17.
Madison on September 5 wrote to the expert on admiralty law, Judge Richard Peter.
After an unusual summer break with heavy rain, Madison came back to Washington
on October 5 and wrote to Monroe again on October 21.
President Jefferson consulted his cabinet and the Congress about an embargo,
and Treasury Secretary Gallatin warned that it would have economic effects.
After debate Congress approved the Embargo Bill on December 22.
Jefferson signed it, and it became effective on the 23rd.
Madison had support in Congress and from Vermont and Virginia in early 1808,
and he became a candidate for President.
Jefferson wrote Madison on March 11 that the embargo was better than a war.
On May 2 Madison sent instructions to John Armstrong in France.
Madison sent five letters to William Pinkney in England,
and Pinkney became the US Minister there on April 27.
Madison wrote to him about the embargo on July 21.
Although the legislatures of eight states asked Jefferson to run for a third term,
he followed the tradition of Washington and retired.
Madison wrote to Jefferson about the embargo on August 10,
and he sent a report to Pinkney on November 9.
In the election Madison with 122 electoral votes defeated
the Federalist Charles C. Pinckney who got 47, and
Vice President George Clinton of New York was re-elected.
On November 13 President Jefferson decided to let the President-Elect Madison
make decisions even before his inauguration.
Madison wrote to William Pinkney again on 11 February 1809.
President Jefferson’s embargo ended when he signed its repeal on 1 March 1809.
James Madison in his inaugural address reviewed the
progress of Jefferson’s Republican administration.
Madison intended to keep the peace.
He hoped their national prosperity will continue despite
the challenges they are facing by “belligerent powers.”
He believed that the “Almighty Being” would regulate their national destiny.
President Madison was advised by the Treasury Secretary Albert Gallatin,
and the Navy Secretary Robert Smith became the Secretary of State.
Madison chose Dr. William Eustis of Massachusetts to be Secretary of War,
and Paul Hamilton of South Carolina became Navy Secretary.
Caesar Rodney was appointed Attorney General.
Madison wrote on March 17 to the US Minister in England William Pinkney.
Jefferson on March 30 wrote to Madison about James Monroe, and then Jefferson
wrote to Madison on April 17 with advice on foreign policy toward Britain and Spain.
On April 19 President Madison proclaimed
“An Act to interdict the Commercial Intercourse between the United States
and Great Britain and France, and their dependencies; and for other purposes.”
Madison responded to Jefferson with a letter
on April 24 regarding challenges of foreign edicts.
In the spring elections that ended on May 5 the Federalists gained 22 seats,
though the Republicans retained a majority of 94 to 48
in the House of Representatives and of 27 to 7 in the Senate.
On May 23 Madison sent a message to Congress that they would
ask for satisfaction because of the British attack on the USS Chesapeake.
He noted that they had 100,000 in the Militia from the act in March 1808,
and they added additional frigates for the Navy.
The suspension of exports and few imports
during the year of the embargo reduced revenues.
Madison sent the Secretary of War’s report to the Congress on May 26,
and he wrote to Jefferson on the 30th about the dangerous relations with the British.
On that day he also wrote a response to a letter from the State Assembly of Tennessee.
The US Senate did not approve of Madison sending
John Quincy Adams as a diplomat to Russia until June 27.
In 1809 President Madison sent 2,000 soldiers to New Orleans;
846 died of malaria until they moved the camp.
He wrote to the City Council of New Orleans on July 23.
Treasury Secretary Gallatin wrote to Madison on July 24 that he was
going to Orange, Virginia and about the problems with the British.
Madison wrote back to Gallatin on the 30th and
discussed the difficult situation with the British.
Madison wrote to Jefferson on August 3, and he noted
that relations with France had not turned.
On August 9 Madison issued a presidential proclamation in reaction
to the British not withdrawing their Orders in Council for the Navy.
Madison refused to stay in Washington to meet with the British diplomat F. J. Jackson.
Madison explained the situation in a letter to Jefferson on August 16.
The next day Jefferson wrote back that he did not trust the British either.
William Pinckney in London wrote to Madison on August 19
describing what was going on in Europe.
The next day John Armstrong wrote to Madison from Amsterdam.
Republicans meeting in Nashville in September sent four resolutions
to Madison pledging their support for the President, and
they published them in the Impartial Review & Clarion.
Madison returned to Washington, and on October 3 he met with F. J. Jackson,
who was responsible for the British Navy bombarding Copenhagen.
On October 23 Madison sent reports with a letter to William Pinkney in London.
On October 29 Treasury Secretary Gallatin wrote to Madison about conflicts
over land sales in the Mississippi Territory.
On that day John G. Jackson wrote to Madison for the Virginia militia
with six resolutions trusting the President and Congress in this crisis.
On November 9 Secretary of State Robert Smith sent a long letter
to William Pinkney, the US Minister in Britain.
Vermont’s General Assembly wrote to Madison on November 15 expressing
their faith in Madison who was associated with Jefferson.
On November 28 Charles C. Pinckney, who had run for President in 1804,
wrote Madison about various concerns.
President Madison presented his First Annual Message to Congress on November 29.
He noted that the British were refusing to do the right thing,
and he reviewed the various difficulties with British policy.
In his conclusion he said, “We are indebted to that Divine Providence
whose goodness has been so remarkably extended to this rising nation.”
Jefferson wrote a consoling letter to Madison on November 30,
and on December 10 Ambassador William Pinkney sent his report from London.
Madison wrote a response to the Vermont General Assembly on December 26.
On 3 January 1810 President Madison in a letter to the United States Congress
asked for preparations for enlisting 20,000 volunteers and for improving naval armament.
The Republican Quaker George Logan, who had worked for peace with France in 1799,
wrote a letter to Madison on January 10 urging peacemaking instead of war,
and he commended the efforts of John Jay for
George Washington and John Adams in his last mission.
On January 16 the US Attorney General Caesar Rodney
wrote a long letter to Madison about maritime law.
Madison wrote back to George Logan on January 19, and
he wished that other nations wanted peace as much as the Americans.
Treasury Secretary Gallatin wrote to Madison
on February 22 with reports for the President.
On that day Republicans in Maryland wrote to Madison
about the commercial war that has caused a crisis.
They recalled Washington’s advice against
making permanent alliances with foreign nations.
Americans value liberty and will respond to hostilities from Britain.
They urged him to defend the honor and rights of the United States.
Chief Justice John Marshall of the US Supreme Court
on April 16 published their decision in Fletcher v. Peck that
settled land conflicts in Georgia and the Mississippi Territory.
Jefferson opposed that decision because it favored speculators
in New England who made $4,282,151.
The Ambassador John Armstrong in Paris had reported in 1809 that
134 American ships had been taken in the ports of France, Spain, Naples, and Holland.
On May 1 the US Congress approved Macon’s Bill #2 that was written by Gallatin
to let American merchants bring French and British products
into American ports that were closed to belligerent nations.
Trade with the British was reviving in the summer until Britain
changed their policy from being anti-French and made it anti-American.
Madison on May 23 wrote to William Pinkney in London with new instructions.
On the 25th Madison wrote to Jefferson complaining
about confiscations by Napoleon Bonaparte.
Madison wrote a letter for Secretary of State Robert Smith
that was sent to John Armstrong in Paris.
Americans in West Florida declared their independence
in a letter to President Madison on October 25.
Two days later Madison and Secretary Smith proclaimed that
that territory was sold to the United States on 30 April 1803.
On 29 October 1810 Madison wrote to John Armstrong at Paris,
and the next day he wrote to William Pinkney in London.
The Unitarian Minister Harry Toulmin was a
Superior Court judge in the Mississippi Territory.
He had written 16 letters to Madison since October 1793, and he wrote again
on 31 October 1810 and 21 more letters after that up to January 1816.
In a proclamation on November 2 Madison recognized France for cooperating
with Macon’s Bill #2, and he warned the British they had three months to comply,
or the Non-Intercourse Act of 1809 would become effective against them.
He also pardoned American deserters on November 5.
In elections from April 1810 to August 1811 the Republicans
gained 13 more seats in the House of Representatives.
In Madison’s Second Annual Message to the Congress on December 5
he explained how the US had taken over West Florida
and what the problems were with the British.
The 1810 Census reported there were 406,466 people in Kentucky and 230,760 in Ohio.
The United States had a population of 7,239,881
including 1,191,362 slaves and 186,466 free Africans.
Henry Clay in Congress argued that they should fight for “free trade and seamen’s rights.”
The national debt was reduced by about $4 million in 1810 and again in 1811.
On 3 January 1811 Madison sent a secret message to the US Congress.
He wanted to be sure that Spain would not transfer any territory
bordering the United States to a foreign power.
Harry Toulmin’s long letter from Fort Stoddert on January 10
and another on the 23rd kept Madison informed on West Florida.
Vice President Clinton’s tie-breaking vote on February 20 kept
the first Bank of the United States from being renewed.
Madison refused to accept Treasury Secretary Gallatin’s resignation.
Madison vetoed bills that tried to fund Baptists in the Mississippi Territory
and an Episcopalian Church, and he explained his veto on February 21.
Jefferson wrote in support of Madison on March 18.
Virginia Governor Monroe responded to a letter from Madison on March 23,
and on April 1 he put Monroe in charge of the State Department.
Yet
the Senate did not confirm him until November 25.
Congress extended the Embargo for 90 days.
A battle at sea between two ships on May 16 aggravated American-British relations.
Madison wrote a letter on May 24 explaining his policy to people in New Haven.
Madison wrote to Jefferson about the British on June 7.
Two deaths on the Supreme Court enabled Madison
to appoint the Treasury Comptroller Gabriel Duvall
and Joseph Story of Massachusetts the two new justices.
On July 24 Madison summoned the Congress to convene on November 4.
On that day they elected young Henry Clay the Speaker of the House.
On October 30 Madison had responded to a document that Jeremy Bentham had sent him.
Madison’s Third Annual Message to Congress on
November 5 criticized the British and the French.
On November 15 Madison wrote to John Quincy Adams in Russia,
and two days later
he welcomed the poet Joel Barlow as a diplomat in the State Department.
Gallatin on December 17 informed Madison where
and how many soldiers the British had in Canada.
On that day Logan wrote another letter to Madison urging him to make peace.
On the 18th Madison reported to the Congress how the Indian Territory
Governor W. H. Harrison was defeating hostile Indians.
About 6,000 American sailors had been impressed into the British Navy since 1803.
After questioning the constitutionality of the federal government funding canals
as well as roads, Madison on December 23 sent Congress a proposal
for a canal from the Great Lakes to the Hudson River.
On December 19 Joel Barlow had written to Madison a long letter about
a comprehensive proposal related to the boundaries of Louisiana.
Congress voted to arm merchant ships.
In January 1912 Treasury Secretary Gallatin opposed war
and advised that a war would cost about $50 million.
Republicans defeated an attempt to build more frigates for the Navy.
Madison on February 24 wrote to Joel Barlow about
reducing French tariffs and abolishing licenses.
On March 31 George Logan made another appeal for peace to Madison.
Madison in April replaced General George Mathers for seizing Amelia Island.
The senior military officer Henry Dearborn wrote to Madison
on April 6 suggesting a strategy that involved invading Canada.
On April 14 the National Intelligencer called for a war in an editorial.
Jefferson on April 17 wrote to Madison asking for help for farmers.
Madison wrote to Jefferson on April 24 about the new Embargo.
On May 6 citizens in the state of New York petitioned
Madison for a repeal of the Embargo.
Samuel Harrison on May 11 wrote Madison a very long letter
explaining why he must free his slaves.
On May 18 the Republican caucus in Congress was
unanimously in favor of re-electing Madison.
Elbridge Gerry would be nominated for Vice President.
On June 1 President Madison sent to the US Congress
his long war message against the British.
On June 9 Jefferson wrote Madison advising him to conquer Canada in order to
stop Indian atrocities, to furnish markets with flour, and to use more cannons.
By the 17th the Republicans in Congress had approved the war
that was opposed by all 39 Federalists.
Madison signed the declaration of war, and his proclamation of war against
the British was published by the National Intelligencer on June 20.
Commander Henry Dearborn wrote to Madison from Boston on June 26.
When the war began, the United States had 6,744 regulars,
and 5,000 recruits were being trained.
Congress approved 100,000 militia for six months and
provided $1,900,000 for arms and military supplies.
The British in Canada had 6,000 regulars and
2,100 auxiliaries and about 3,000 Indian allies.
The US Navy had fewer than a dozen warships.
The British Navy had 80 ships in the region and almost 700 warships at sea.
Madison chose the triple invasion advised by War Secretary Eustis and General Dearborn.
Native Americans gathered at Fort Wayne, and only the older chiefs,
who opposed Tecumseh, were for the United States.
Tecumseh wanted to unite the tribes with the British,
and he was able to get most of the Indian nations to support the British.
In Baltimore the Federal Republican opposed the war.
The riots in Baltimore went on for weeks.
Congress approved 143 laws by 6 July 1812 when they adjourned.
The Northampton Memorial from Massachusetts presented arguments against the war,
and they sent it to Madison on July 9.
Others in Massachusetts expressed similar complaints against the war.
President Madison issued a proclamation on July 9 citing the resolution
of the Congress for a day of humiliation and prayer.
A few days later Treasury Secretary Gallatin sent his “Agenda”
to Madison for getting the military organized and with a strategy
for attacking Canada from Niagara and then Montreal.
He also suggested communicating with the British ministry and negotiating an armistice.
Southern states were more supportive of the war effort.
On July 27 the Federal Republican ran an editorial criticizing “mobocracy” and violence.
General Hull led the invasion of Upper Canada that began on July 12.
Some Americans surrendered to one thousand British, Canadians, and Indians.
On August 3 riots resumed in Baltimore.
Hull led another assault on August 6, and then they retreated to Detroit.
On August 8 Madison wrote to Treasury Secretary Gallatin
on informal diplomatic responses he received from the British.
The next day Madison wrote a letter to General Henry Dearborn.
Madison on August 11 wrote with most words in code to Joel Barlow in Paris.
Madison sent a courier to the British with his request for
an armistice
and the demands that the British stop impressing Americans into their Navy
and to end the blockades of European ports.
On August 13 the British Major General Brock
led 300 reinforcements to Fort Malden.
When Americans surrendered Fort Dearborn, about 500 Potawatomis attacked them.
Hull surrendered in Michigan.
General Dearborn wrote to Madison on August 15.
Two days later Madison wrote to Jefferson about the war.
On August 19 the USS Constitution sank the Guerriere and captured 257 men.
Americans in the Niagara campaign had 6,400 troops against 2,300 British and Indians.
President Madison wrote two fairly long letters to
Secretary of State James Monroe on September 6 and 8.
Samuel Harrison wrote to Madison on September 14 urging him to make peace.
Senator Jonathan Dayton of New Jersey wrote to Madison and gave him military advice.
Madison wrote to Monroe again on September 21 and 23.
Madison on October 7 offered advice to the Commander Henry Dearborn.
The next day Madison proclaimed another offer to pardon deserters.
On October 13 General Ransselaer led 1,300 Americans
who retreated, and 764 surrendered.
Madison canceled the Canada invasion in November.
He sent his long Fourth Annual Address to Congress on November 4 during the election.
He asked for an expanded Army and Navy, and he suggested changing militia laws.
In the elections the Republicans retained a majority in the House and the Senate.
Madison defeated DeWitt Clinton of New York
128 to 89 in the Electoral College to win a second term.
On December 16 General Dearborn in a letter asked Madison for
30,000 more troops and even suggested how many from each state.
On 8 January 1813 President Madison named John Armstrong of New York
to be Secretary of War and William Jones of Pennsylvania to be Navy Secretary.
Speaker of the House of Representatives Henry Clay
spoke on the causes of war for two days.
On January 14 Madison sent to the Senate a report
by the Secretary of State James Monroe.
On the 18th George Logan wrote to Madison again on peace.
The British blockaded Chesapeake Bay.
General Andrew Jackson raised 2,000 volunteers to fight for New Orleans,
and Treasury Secretary Gallatin made sure they stayed in Tennessee.
Gallatin arranged loans of $5,720,000 from New York and $6,800,000 from Philadelphia.
Joel Barlow had died on 26 December 1812.
Madison sent Senator William Crawford of Georgia to Paris,
and he got there on 23 March 1813.
On February 5 War Secretary Armstrong began raising the Army to 58,000 men.
The US Navy had 16 ships, and in the war about
500 privateers would capture over 400 British ships.
Madison wrote to General Dearborn on February 6,
and he suggested more cannons for their ships.
On the 7th S. Potter wrote a very long letter to Madison
explaining why he should free his slaves.
In a letter to the US Congress on February 24 Madison urged them
to counter the British by prohibiting trade with them.
Madison began his second term on March 4 with
an inaugural address on why they are at war against the British.
After learning that Napoleon’s invasion of Russia had failed,
Madison wrote to Jefferson on March 10.
On the 19th the War Department established the 8th Military District from
Kentucky and Ohio to the territories of Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Missouri.
On March 29 John Fellows informed Madison how badly
the British were treating the American prisoners of war.
Madison in a letter to John Nicholas of Virginia on April 2
explained his policy on the war that included mediation by Russia.
On April 17 Madison named Gallatin, John Quincy Adams,
and the Federalist Senator Bayard to be on the commission going to Russia.
On April 27 American forces invaded Canada, and for three days
they pillaged their capital in York and burned the government building.
They captured military supplies and stayed there until May 8.
General Harrison’s army of 2,800 men besieged Fort Meigs from April 28 to May 9.
On May 5 Chief Tecumseh’s warriors attacked the Kentucky militia
and killed 160, wounded 190, and captured 530.
During the negotiations in Russia, Madison refused to accept an armistice
unless the British lifted the blockade of the US coast.
Usually Congress adjourned until December, but in 1813 Madison had the Congress
convene on May 24 and sent them a message the next day.
The US Senate rejected the US effort in Russia.
An American army of 4,000 defeated 1,300 British and 50 natives at Fort George,
and the British retreated to Fort Erie on May 27.
On June 3 Madison moved the Navy Secretary William Jones
to replace Gallatin as Treasury Secretary.
Paul Cuffe on June 16 sent Madison a letter asking for a license to trade with Sierra Leone.
The Senate approved a commercial voyage, though it failed
in the House of Representatives in January 1814.
On 17 June 1813 the New England Society of Friends (Quakers)
wrote to Madison and the US Congress urging peace.
Jefferson sent his advice to Madison on June 21.
The peacemaker Logan wrote to Madison again on July 4.
Robert Fulton had invented the steamboat, and on July 8 he wrote to Madison
about an underwater cannon that could sink enemy ships.
Governor Claiborne of the Louisiana Territory wrote to Madison on July 9
about Cuba, Spain, the Creeks, the Choctaws, Canada, and Mexico.
Secretary of State Monroe on July 12 sent to Madison
a very long report on the last three years since May 1810.
Madison on July 20 sent a confidential message to the Congress
about the war and the blockade.
Monroe wrote to Madison again on August 30 as the British were rejecting mediation.
Madison wrote to him on September 1 suggesting a “constitutional point of view.”
Madison wrote another letter to Monroe on September 2,
and he wrote to Secretary of War Armstrong on September 8 on the war situation.
On September 10 Commander Oliver Perry led
nine ships that defeated a British squadron.
General Harrison’s army of 3,000 on October 6 defeated the British in Ontario.
Chief Tecumseh was killed, and they captured 570 British soldiers.
Harrison on October 13 accepted an armistice with six Indian nations.
The British blockade by November extended to the
entire Atlantic coast south of New England.
General Andrew Jackson with 5,000 militia
directed a campaign against the Creeks in November.
On December 7 Madison sent a long Annual Message to Congress about the war.
The British had rejected Russia’s mediation, and he blamed them
for using “savages” against the Americans.
Counting loans the government had $37,500,000 in revenues in the fiscal year.
Two days later Madison sent the Congress a confidential letter
that discussed commercial and navigation laws.
Congress approved the Embargo Act, and Madison signed it into law on December 17.
This banned all exports and imports from Britain.
An army of 62,500 men was authorized.
In December the British attacked Fort Niagara and towns in the state of New York.
In January 1814 President Madison accepted a British offer to negotiate in London
or Gothenburg, Sweden, and he sent Albert Gallatin to join the commission that included
Henry Clay and the ambassador to Sweden, Jonathan Russell,
whom the Senate confirmed on January 18.
The British were delayed for months, and in late June
they moved the treaty process to Ghent in Belgium.
Gallatin arrived on July 6.
Congress had removed Gallatin from the Cabinet, and Madison had appointed
George Campbell of Tennessee as Treasury Secretary on February 7.
Jefferson sent Madison a letter with financial advice on February 6.
General Andrew Jackson with 2,000 infantry, 70 cavalry,
and 600 native allies
defeated the Creeks at Horseshoe Bend on March 27.
Jackson was promoted and became commander at Mobile.
Creeks accepted a treaty on August 9, and
the United States took over more than half their land.
Federalists in New England were still opposing “Mr. Madison’s War.”
On March 31 President Madison asked the Congress
to end the embargo except for belligerent nations.
Richard Rush of Pennsylvania became US Attorney General.
On April 25 the British extended their blockade to ports in New England
so that it extended from Canada to Texas.
Napoleon’s abdication enabled the British to move more soldiers and ships to America.
On May 20 Madison wrote to War Secretary Armstrong and urged him to help the Indians.
The next day Madison sent a letter to Secretary of State Monroe
and discussed the changing situation.
On June 17 Madison again urged deserters to return to service.
On the 29th he issued a Presidential Proclamation on the blockade.
Madison wanted 10,000 men to defend Washington, and Armstrong did not agree.
Americans in the Battle of Chippewa took back Fort Erie on July 3.
Both sides suffered in the battle at Lundy’s Lane.
The British besieged Fort Erie from August 4 to September 21,
and both sides had heavy losses.
Madison called for a special session of Congress to start on September 19,
and he asked for 6,000 men from Maryland to defend the capital.
Madison sent a fairly long letter to Armstrong with instructions and ten orders.
General Winder moved three regiments from Baltimore to Washington on August 20.
Madison wrote another long letter to Armstrong on August 24.
On that day 4,250 British soldiers attacked Washington
which was defended by 7,640 Americans.
Madison retreated, and Armstrong told him he had not yet organized defense.
Winder ordered 2,000 men to retreat.
The British pillaged and burned, and some Americans looted.
The British concentrated on government buildings, and they burned the Capitol,
the State-War-Navy building, and other public buildings.
The Library of Congress was destroyed, and the President’s House was burned.
For four days Madison worked to restore public safety.
On August 28 the British destroyed Fort Washington.
Madison described these events in a Memoranda.
The British filled 21 ships with naval stores from Alexandria.
Commodore Rodgers left Baltimore with 650 men to protect Georgetown.
Over 12,000 soldiers were ordered to defend Baltimore.
Madison and Monroe issued a Presidential Proclamation
on September 1 to calm the people.
About 8,000 British attacked Plattsburg on September 6,
and the battle went on for six days.
Congress debated where to meet.
Madison at a cabinet meeting accused Armstrong of incompetence.
Monroe again was put in charge of the War Department, and he ordered
General Jackson to prepare for an attack on New Orleans.
Madison announced that the British had violated civilized warfare during peace negotiations.
In September 6-11 the American Navy was victorious in the battle on Lake Champlain,
and the Canadian Governor General Prevost retreated with 14,000 men.
The British landed 8,000 men near Baltimore, and their Navy bombarded Fort McHenry.
The British retreated on September 15, and four days later their fleet,
which had captured 21 American ships, left to go to Halifax.
On September 20 Madison presented his Sixth Annual Message
to Congress that discussed the war.
On September 22 New Orleans Governor Claiborne wrote
to Madison and called for the “Spirit of Seventy Six.”
Jefferson sympathized with Madison in a letter he wrote on September 24.
The US Army had 34,029 men on September 30,
and Congress approved an Army of 62,488.
President Madison wrote to his friend Jefferson on October 10.
On November 18 Madison wrote the US Senate asking them to ratify a treaty
with the Wyandots, Delawares, Shawnees, Senecas, and Miamis.
Vice President Elbridge Gerry died on November 26,
and the US Senate elected John Gaillard of South Carolina to replace him.
Madison ordered Kentucky, Tennessee, and Georgia to increase General Jackson’s militia.
With peace in Europe the British stopped impressing American sailors for their Navy.
The four American commissioners agreed to a treaty with the British
on December 24 that included making peace treaties
with the Indian nations that fought in the war.
The treaty condemned the slave trade, and they promised to work on abolishing slavery.
On December 29 the Mississippi Territory Legislature
sent a supportive resolution to President Madison.
The Embargo had caused exports to fall sharply in 1814.
In the battle at New Orleans on 8 January 1815 General Andrew Jackson’s
12,000 volunteers had only 13 dead, 39 wounded and 19 missing
while the British lost 291 killed, 1,262 wounded, and 484 captured or missing.
Neither side knew that a treaty had already ended the war.
Congress called up 40,000 militia for 12 months, and they were to stay
in the state unless the governor allowed them to leave.
The US Government needed to borrow about $41 million,
and Madison signed the bill on January 27.
On the 30th he vetoed a bank bill, and he explained
why in a fairly long letter to the US Senate.
On February 4 Madison in a Presidential Proclamation
granted full pardons for offenses during the war.
News of the peace treaty signed at Ghent reached Washington on February 14,
and the US Senate ratified it two days later.
Also on the 16th Madison issued a Presidential Proclamation
on the treaty Jackson made with the Creek nation on 9 August 1814.
On February 18 Madison presented in a letter to the Congress
the Treaty of Peace and Amity between the United States and Britain.
Americans in the War of 1812 had 2,260 killed and 4,505 wounded.
The British lost 1,160 killed, 3,679 wounded, and 3,321 died of disease.
The war cost the United States $105 million, and the government borrowed $80 million.
American privateers captured 1,700 merchant ships,
and the US Navy won two-thirds of their battles.
Because of the Embargo manufacturing in the United States increased greatly.
On February 22 Madison and War Secretary Monroe discussed reducing the US Army,
and Madison suggested retaining 20,000 out of 35,000.
Congress approved only 10,000.
The next day Madison asked Congress to recognize a war against Algiers.
On March 3 the Congress approved deploying the Navy against Algiers,
and in the spring they sent a squadron of ten ships led by Stephen Decatur.
Madison responded to an address from Massachusetts on March 7.
On the 12th he wrote to Jefferson who praised Madison’s account
of the war and wrote back with his suggestions.
Treasury Secretary Dallas became Secretary of War on March 2,
and Madison wrote a long letter to him on April 9.
On the 15th Madison wrote about Algiers to
James Monroe who was still Secretary of State.
Madison wrote to Dallas again on April 25 on issues in the War Department.
On May 2 Madison wrote to Monroe about changes occurring in Europe,
and after getting foreign intelligence he wrote again to him on May 9.
Madison sent governors of territories to negotiate with Indian nations,
and during the summer some agreed on treaties.
On September 12 Madison wrote to Monroe, and he noted that
Decatur made peace with the Dey of Algiers.
Madison delivered his Seventh Annual Message to Congress on December 5
and discussed many issues including the revised cost of the war at $68,783,122.
Bank notes had increased from $80 million in 1811 to over $200 million.
Prices were declining in 1815.
Madison and Dallas criticized Andrew Jackson
for continuing martial law after the war.
The state of Ohio no longer had any Indians, and its population
grew from 230,000 in 1810 to about 400,000 in 1815.
On December 12 Madison’s proclamation required those who had obtained
public lands of the United States unlawfully to return that land or face prosecution.
On 11 January 1816 leaders in the Illinois Territory wrote to
President Madison to complain about the public land Act of March 1807.
On March 19 Madison signed the Compensation Act that
raised Congressional salaries from $6 per day to $1,500 a year.
President Madison’s salary was $25,000.
On March 15 the Republican caucus in Congress voted for Madison’s friend
James Monroe for President with 65 to 54 for George Crawford of Georgia.
Federalists nominated US Senator Rufus King of New York for President.
On April 10 Madison signed the bill to establish the Second Bank of the United States.
Madison supported statehood for Indiana on April 19.
Mississippi’s petition was rejected because it would have become the largest state.
He signed a Tariff Bill on April 27, and two days later
he approved the Naval Expansion Act.
Madison received a fairly long letter from the Dey of Algiers on April 24.
On May 1 Madison proclaimed that an Act which was approved on 5 March 1816
granting land to Canadian Volunteers would be under his direction as President.
On May 10 Madison wrote to John Quincy Adams who
had become the US Minister to Britain in May 1815.
Then on May 12 Madison wrote to William Eustis,
the US Ambassador to the Netherlands.
Madison began a long vacation at Montpelier on June 5,
and he returned to Washington on October 9.
Madison wrote a long letter on British issues to Secretary of State Monroe on July 16.
That month Albert Gallatin became the US Ambassador to France.
Madison wrote a response to the Dey of Algiers on August 21.
On the 25th Madison wrote to the Treasury Secretary Alexander Dallas
about the new bank, and he wrote to Dallas again on September 15.
On the 14th General Jackson had signed a peace treaty with the Cherokees.
On September 20 Jackson made a treaty with the Chickasaws that involved the Choctaws.
Madison wrote four letters to Secretary of War
William Crawford in three days in September 21-23.
Crawford became Treasury Secretary on October 22.
Most of the 81 members of Congress who voted
for the Compensation Bill were not re-elected.
James Monroe was easily elected President with 183 electoral votes to 23 for Rufus King.
Democrats gained 25 more seats in the House of Representatives.
President Madison in his long 8th Annual Message to Congress
on December 3 criticized British trade policy.
He found the Indian nations peaceful and asked for militia reform.
He advised a decimal system of weights and measures,
and he wanted a national university in the District of Columbia and more education.
Congress approved the statehood of Indiana on December 11.
Madison also sent a special message to Congress on December 26,
and he asked for more safeguards at sea.
Congress repealed the Compensation Act on 23 January 1817.
Madison in a letter to Jefferson on February 15
discussed the weather, Spain, and the Congress.
After the Mississippi Territory was divided in half,
Mississippi became a state on March 1.
On March 3 Madison wrote to the House of Representatives about
his opinion on “internal improvements” and legislative powers.
Like his predecessors Madison took his papers home when he left office on March 4.
On 2 March 1809 James W. Stevens advised in a letter to James Madison that
Indians’ neutrality cannot be trusted during a war and
that everything was pointing toward a spirit of war.
He also warned that in a war the British would cooperate with Indian tribes.
President Thomas Jefferson, who was leaving his office on March 4 wrote
a Memorandum to James Madison, who was becoming President on that day,
about the Cherokee Chief Doublehead and his reserve and the Chickasaw lands.
On 10 April 1809 the Shawnee chiefs and headmen wrote to President Madison
about the Quaker who had been helping them in Ohio.
Hobohoilthle wrote to Madison on September 29 about their needs.
Governor William Henry Harrison of the Indiana Territory worked out a treaty
at Fort Wayne with the Miamis, Eel Rivers, Delawares,
Potawatomies, and Kickapoos on September 30.
The great Chief Tecumseh in 1809 was gaining allies from the Seminoles, Osages,
Creeks, Chosctaws, and Cherokees in the south, though he was less successful
with the Six Nations of the Iroquois in New York.
On 11 April 1810 the Cherokee National Council sent a letter to Madison
about their history and a conflict with Chickasaws.
President Washington had helped them, and they believed in the Great Spirit.
On July 17 George Colbert and ten Chickasaws
wrote to Madison addressing him as “Father.”
Gov. Harrison met with Tecumseh and several tribes on August 12.
Tecumseh described how the Americans had been exploiting them with treaties.
Eight chiefs of the Northwestern Indians wrote to Madison
on September 26 asking him to listen to them.
Their general Council met northwest of the Ohio River.
They noted that Governor Hull was trying to renew their treaties
with the Seventeen fires (states).
Tecumseh crossed the Detroit River on November 15 to meet with the
Potawatomis, Ottawas, Sauk, Foxes, and Winnebagos and the British in Canada.
Tennessee’s Attorney General Enoch Parsons wrote to Madison
on December 25 about the Creeks and Cherokees.
On 14 January 1811 Madison wrote to the Creek chiefs
as their father who wanted friendship.
In May the Seneca Chief Red Jacket warned that the Americans wanted to buy their land.
Hobohoilthle wrote again to President Madison on May 11 about the land issues.
Gov. Harrison wrote to Tecumseh and his brother the Prophet Tenskwatawa on June 24,
and on July 27 Tecumseh told Harrison that the Creeks might join his confederation.
Citizens met at Vincennes and resolved to break up the Tippecanoe settlement.
War Secretary Eustis sent 500 regulars from Pittsburgh
to Harrison to attack if war was threatened.
Madison got another letter from people in Knox County in the Indian Territory
with an enclosure from their president Ephraim Jordan who warned them about
the Shawnee Prophet, who was Tecumseh’s brother, and a British scheme.
Col. John P. Boyd in September led 300 infantry in the Indiana Territory.
Harrison had a fort built that was finished on October 28.
He wrote to the Prophet and made demands.
About 450 warriors attacked Harrison’s army camp on November 7,
and 61 Americans and 38 Indians were killed.
The Indians fled.
Chiefs met at Detroit on November 13 and wrote to Madison.
Wyandot chiefs in Detroit wrote a long letter to Madison on 5 February 1812.
On June 2 the Oneida’s War Committee wrote to President Madison fearing
that Indians in Canada were going to fight against them.
Madison in August wrote to Indian delegations in Washington as “my red children.”
On 13 August 1813 Harry Toulmin from Fort Stoddert in West Florida
wrote to Madison about the Creeks and Choctaws.
On the 30th Creek warriors attacked Fort Minns near Mobile and killed 517 people.
Toulmin from Mobile wrote Madison again on September 14
and a longer letter from Fort Stoddert on October 4.
On the 6th General Thomas Flournoy wrote to Madison about the Creeks’ warfare.
Madison wrote to War Secretary John Armstrong
on October 11 on the Indian “operations.”
On 1 June 1814 several Cherokee chiefs wrote to President Madison
as their “Beloved Father” with their hope for peace and harmony.
Madison issued a Presidential Proclamation on December 21 announcing the treaty
made with the Wyandot, Delaware, Shawnee, Seneca, and Miami Nations.
On 10 December 1816 President Madison sent the treaties made in 1816
to the United States Senate, and they were ratified by 25 January 1817.
The retired James Madison wrote several letters on the slavery issue in 1819.
On March 2 he wrote to Robert Walsh and described the “general condition of slaves.”
He suggested that “sensibility to human rights and sympathy
with human sufferings” could help abolish slavery.
He criticized the “unequal distribution of property
favored by laws derived from the British code.”
Other “demoralizing causes” had ceased while slavery was an exception.
He noted that the Christian religion in America was divided into several sects.
The morality of priests and people have improved because of
the “total separation of the Church from the State.”
Edward Coles had been President Madison’s private secretary
from January 1810 to March 1815.
In 1816 Coles went to Russia as a diplomat, and in 1817 he sold his plantation
to his brother and moved to the Northwest Territory where slavery was banned.
He freed his 18 slaves in Pennsylvania and gave each head of a family 160 acres of land.
Coles was elected governor of Illinois which outlawed slavery in 1824.
Madison and Coles exchanged 75 letters from September 1812 to May 1836.
Coles explained how he freed his slaves in a letter to Madison on 20 July 1819.
Madison wrote to Coles on September 3,
and he commended Coles’ “true course with your negroes.”
Madison had about 100 slaves.
On 15 June 1819 Madison in a letter to Robert J. Evans
explained his ideas on how slaves could be emancipated.
He wrote that the process should be general, equitable,
and consistent with existing prejudices.
He suggested moving freed blacks to places without whites.
A colonizing society had formed to send free blacks to the African coast.
He estimated they needed about $600 million to purchase land.
He was also open to other plans.
Madison discussed slavery issues in a longer letter to Walsh on November 19.
He noted that the African trade in slaves had been odious for a long time,
and several states had banned slavery.
The Constitution prevented Congress from interfering with slavery until 1808,
though Madison had wanted to start that ban in 1800.
New states were deciding whether or not to allow slavery.
Missouri made slavery a constitutional issue, and Madison wrote to
President James Monroe on 10 February 1820 about the current situation.
Madison on 23 February 1833 wrote a fairly long letter to Thomas R. Dew
about the slave system and the efforts of the Colonization Society.
Madison’s wife Dolley agreed not to break up families by selling slaves after his death.
After the inauguration of James Monroe as President on 4 March 1817,
Madison and his wife Dolley returned to their home Montpelier in Virginia.
He continued to receive and send letters.
On June 27 he wrote a letter to Richard Rush discussing foreign policy.
On November 29 he wrote to President James Monroe about roads and canals
and the proposed university in the capital.
He wrote to Monroe again on December 27 and
he considered the constitutionality of the Cumberland Road.
In 1818 Madison worked on editing The Federalist,
and on November 28 he wrote to Monroe about the situation
with the British, Europe, Canada, and South America.
Madison in a letter to Monroe on 13 February 1819 supported
General Andrew Jackson leading the effort to bring Florida into the United States.
On September 2 Madison discussed the United States Constitution
with Spencer Roane and the powers of Congress and the judiciary.
Thomas Jefferson in his Autobiography in 1821
praised the political career of his friend Madison.
Madison wrote again to Judge Roane about the US Supreme Court.
On 4 August 1822 in a letter to William T. Barry he emphasized the value of education.
In June 1823 Madison wrote to Thomas Jefferson and discussed who influenced
George Washington’s “Farewell Address” and several judicial issues.
In another letter to Jefferson in February 1825 he wrote about the “general welfare.”
Madison in November contemplated God and
infinite time and space in a letter to Frederick Beaseley.
He expressed the beliefs that understanding a God that is omnipotent,
wise, and good are valuable for the “moral order of the world.”
In 1827 Madison let Jared Sparks have more letters from
James Monroe, Edmund Pendleton, and Edmund Randolph.
Madison wrote to Henry Clay in April 1833 about the tariff.
In 1834 he wrote his “Advice to my Country” and asked
that it not be shared until after his death.
By 1836 Madison could not walk.
His last words before he died on 28 June 1836 were
“Nothing more than a change of mind, my dear.”
James Madison was inaugurated the fourth President of the United States
on 4 March 1809, and in his address he reviewed the achievements of the Jefferson era
and affirmed republican principles and peace and friendly relations.
The embargo was over, and he decommissioned
most gunboats and discharged 100,000 militia.
He used diplomacy to avoid the war between England and France.
Governor Harrison in the Indiana Territory bought
three million acres from Indians in September.
Chief Tecumseh complained that all tribes should have to agree to these deals,
and he worked to unite the Indian nations while
negotiating with the British and the Americans.
Madison was concerned about the British forcing American sailors into their Royal Navy,
and he asked for much more military spending for 1810.
The US Supreme Court in Fletcher v. Peck recognized property rights of those
who took land from the Indians between Georgia and the Mississippi River.
Madison proclaimed a fulfilled agreement with Napoleon’s France in November 1810.
In the 1810 elections the Republicans increased their majorities in Congress.
Americans occupied West Florida, and in January 1811 Madison sent
the US Army led by George Mathews to invade East Florida.
The US Congress did not renew the charter of the national bank
in February 1811, benefitting the state banks.
Madison vetoed a bill that would have funded churches because
it would have violated
the first amendment which prohibits government from establishing religion.
Seneca’s Chief Red Jacket complained about land sales by some Indians to others.
Madison replaced the incompetent Secretary of State
Robert Smith with James Monroe in April.
On November 7 war broke out between Harrison’s army and the Indians at Tippecanoe,
and the US Army burned the Indians’ town.
Tecumseh returned from a visit to the Creeks and tried to negotiate peace.
The British were still seizing American sailors and ships,
and Madison asked for more Navy ships and harbor fortifications.
In January 1812 he approved a bill increasing the US Army to 35,000 men.
Restored trade had multiplied by 32 the exports to Britain.
Madison ordered that invaded territory in East Florida be returned to Spain.
Louisiana with slaves became the 18th state.
On June 1 Madison sent a message to Congress asking for war against the British,
and the declaration passed on the 17th.
England had repealed the offensive Orders in Council the day before, but it was too late.
The United States planned to add 25,000 regulars and 50,000 volunteers
for one year and authorized 100,000 militia for six months;
but the US Navy had less than a dozen warships
while the British had 80 in the region and 700 at sea.
Tecumseh opposed the older chiefs and wanted to unite the tribes
on the British side to regain some of their land.
Northern Federalists and the Federal Republican in Baltimore opposed the war,
and hundreds of angry men destroyed their building.
Governor William Hull in the Michigan Territory was ordered to go to Fort Detroit
where his militia was defeated by British soldiers led by General Brock.
The US Army invaded Canada, but the New York militia led by General Van Ransselaer
suffered many more casualties than the smaller British force
at Queenstown Heights on October 13.
After that devastating defeat the state militia refused to leave the state.
Many in New England opposed the war, and the British
tried to win them over by not blockading their coast.
President Madison was re-elected, though the Federalist minority
gained eight senators and 32 seats in the House.
In 1813 nearly 500 American privateers seized more than 400 British ships.
The United States borrowed $12.5 million from New York and Philadelphia,
and expenditures increased from $20 million to $32 million in 1813.
In April the US Army and Navy attacked and burned the Canadian capital buildings at York.
The United States imposed another Embargo Act against foreign trade in December.
Madison agreed to peace talks in January 1814,
and Congress authorized a $24 million loan.
Andrew Jackson’s army continued to kill Creeks,
and they capitulated on August 9 and sold 36 million square miles.
The embargo prohibited New England from trading with Canada,
and the British blockaded the entire coast of the United States.
Having defeated Napoleon, the British could send more soldiers.
The British from Montreal fought Americans at Plattsburg in September.
Secretary of War Armstrong failed to defend Washington which the British attacked
burning the Capitol, the President’s House, and other government buildings.
Madison and his wife Dolley escaped with documents,
and the Americans managed to defend Fort McHenry in Baltimore.
The Library of Congress had been burned,
and Jefferson sold his library to replace the books.
The British had stopped impressing American sailors.
Federalists opposed to the war met at Hartford in December
and proposed amendments to the Constitution.
With little exporting the federal deficit for 1814 was about $41 million.
A peace treaty was signed at Ghent on December 24.
Not knowing this, General Andrew Jackson led a force that
defeated the British at New Orleans on 8 January 1815.
The US Senate ratified the treaty on February 16, ending the war.
The United States spent $105 million on the war, and 2,260 Americans were killed.
Privateers took 1,700 ships, and manufacturing expanded.
After the war the US Congress agreed to a standing Army of 10,000 men,
and families of killed and wounded men got pensions.
General Jackson continued martial law after the war.
A squadron was sent to Algiers so that American prisoners would be released.
The United States made a commercial treaty with Britain
that was ratified by the end of 1815.
Treaties in the summer ended the fighting with the Indians.
The national debt reached $120 million, and prices had nearly doubled.
Indians no longer owned land in Ohio, and settlers increased the population to 400,000.
Indiana adopted a constitution that abolished slavery
and became the 18th state in December.
President Madison approved a new national bank in April 1816,
and a commission began planning the Erie Canal.
People objected to Congressmen raising their own pay substantially,
and only a third of them were re-elected.
Federalists lost 17 seats, and the lame-duck Congress repealed the Compensation Act.
American trade naturally increased.
Jackson made a treaty with the Cherokee nation and Chickasaws
in September 1816, and the Choctaws also ceded land.
Criticism of alcohol began a temperance movement,
and peace societies formed in New York and Massachusetts.
Bible societies increased, and many religious tracts were published.
Abolitionists worked to end slavery, and some, including Madison,
proposed sending free blacks back to Africa.
Madison also retired after a second term, and
Secretary of State James Monroe was easily elected President.
President Madison carried on the Republican policies of Jefferson
but failed to avoid wars with Indians and the British.
American invasions of Canada were disastrous militarily
and certainly did not win over Canadians or the British.
After they burned Canada’s capital at York,
British forces retaliated by destroying government buildings in Washington.
Chief Tecumseh and many Indians fought with the British
to try to regain their land from the Americans.
Land taken over from Indians enabled the states of
Indiana and Mississippi to join the Union.
The war more than doubled the national debt.
Federalists opposed “Madison’s War” that marred his presidency and American history.
During his eight years the national debt increased by about $66 million.
I hold Madison primarily responsible for the War of 1812,
and I rank James Madison #9.